


How To Be A Supportive Whatever-You-Are

by rowanthestrange_yugihell



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Being A Sort Of Teenage Parent To A Teenage Child Who’s Really Your Brother, Gen, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 21:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10839939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowanthestrange_yugihell/pseuds/rowanthestrange_yugihell
Summary: In which Mokuba wants to have ‘a talk’ with Seto, and Seto has Prepared For This Moment. Except he hasn’t.





	How To Be A Supportive Whatever-You-Are

* * *

  


“Can I talk to you? Upstairs? In a minute?”  


Ok, it’s time, he can tell. Mokuba’s got that look on his face, and he’s shuffling about, avoiding eye contact. Last time this happened he had to sit through a thirty minute lecture on safe sex. Sometimes he still flashes back to that moment. Like when he’s holding a bottle of oil - “Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT, use an oil-based lubricant with latex” - he doesn’t want to, he just wants to cook dinner for once without being so embarrassed he could fry the steak on his own face.

But he has prepared. 

**Top contenders are:**

**1) Mokuba officially announces himself to be bisexual.**  
He’s already fairly obvious about it, but he might want to do the thing properly.

**2) Mokuba tells him he doesn’t want to work for Kaiba Corp any more.**  
This is also fine, and he has numerous plans in place for this event.  


**3) Mokuba wants to pursue a career as a Pro Duelist.**  
He would counsel against it, but if that is what he wants, then he’s sure he will make a worthy competitor. Will have to find a new MC though.

**4) Mokuba tells him he wants to make CapMon a major product.**  
This is less likely, but he was fond of it as a kid, and you never know. He’s had his own money-sink projects, so it seems only fair to let Mokuba have one.

**5) Mokuba wants to move out.**  
The most terrifying option, but possible. He’s only fourteen, but Seto’s aware that he doesn’t exactly have a leg to stand on when it comes to what fourteen year olds should or shouldn’t do.  
  
Seto runs through some supportive dialogue in his head. All suggested by actually decent parents who are willing to help out a clueless guy on the internet, on a chatroom he would die before admitting he’s been on, without ever knowing who they’re really talking to (but later finding their credit card debts have mysteriously vanished).

He psychs himself up and opens Mokuba’s door.

Mokuba looks up at him from his bed, gives him a look that’s something like a smile that ran out of steam halfway through, and moves a few sketchbooks out of the way for Seto to sit down.

He doesn’t like sitting on the bed. Makes him feel small. Worrying about Mokuba makes him feel small enough. It was easier when he was a lousy asshole of a brother, now it always feels like he’s in a permanent loop of trying and failing to do right by him.

“So…”

Mokuba fiddles with the corner of a piece of paper. It’s got a new Blue Eyes on it. He’s seen Mokuba churn these out when he’s nervous with nothing more than five minutes of spare time and a biro. Seto keeps looking at it. Some things are easier without eye-contact.

“You know how you said I don’t need to carry on as Vice President any more…”

Option 2 then. Option 3 still a possibility too.

“Yeah.” A ‘Yes’ sounds too firm, he doesn’t want Mokuba to think he’s berating him. 

It’s perfectly true, and he stands by it. When he returned from using the Dimension Cannon to find Mokuba completely burned out, distinctly thinner, and the share prices for Kaiba Corp higher than they’d been in a year and a half, he had promised Mokuba he didn’t need to do this again. He hadn’t needed the punch in the face from Wheeler to come to that decision, he’d made it as soon as he’d laid eyes on Mokuba again.

“And then you made that weird little speech about the pursuit of dreams, that made it obvious to everyone in the room you’d just got laid…”

“Mmm.”

No, actually he doesn’t remember, but it’s been quoted back to him often enough that he almost feels like he does. And it was just a kiss, but that seems fairly embarrassing to admit, so he’s left them to their misinformation.

Dreams. Ok, Option 3. He’ll make an excellent duellist, nothing less. It’s a hard road, but he’ll be behind him all the way. Until he’s in front of him, but they won’t think about that just now.

“I… don’t want to quit Kaiba Corp. Or even my position really, but I do want to move…”

Oh. Not Option 2? Option 5? Wait, he’s getting confused.

“I’ve got some ideas.”

Option 4??

“And I want to do what I love.”

Option 1???

“Mokuba, what-“

“Iwannabeanartist.”

It comes out in a gabble, and Seto makes the forbidden eye contact. Mokuba goes slightly pink, but he breathes deeply and Seto watches him slide into board-meeting mode. Control the room.

“I want to be an artist. I want to work for the design team. I’m happy to keep doing what I’m doing, but I want more input in that side of things.”

Seto’s brain jams in a way it hasn’t done since Atem asked him how he expected to play Duel Monsters if he hadn’t brought him a Duel Disk.

Of course he wants to be an artist.

Of course he does.

The handmade Blue Eyes card still sits in a box in the fireproof safe in his room. Those little ‘Construction Blue Eyes’ that he designed when they were building bits of KaibaLand, cute but not cutesy, exactly right. The pictures in the margins of his homework, and napkin doodles, and pixel drawings on his phone, products of boredom created in minutes that are better than some of his employees attempts at art that takes them months.

He turns Mokuba’s biro Blue Eyes around to face him, fiddling with the bottom corner the same way Mokuba had been, the paper slightly furry under his fingertips. 

Of course.

All the signs were there.

He’s not good at piecing matters of the heart together.

Seto realises that he’s been quiet for altogether too long, and Mokuba’s looking at him. He looks calm and resolute, but Seto can see the twitch of his pulse in his neck. ‘Don’t do that’, he wants to say. ‘Don’t let me have made you into that’.

He can’t find the right words. Nothing quite fits any more.

Fuck it.

With a sudden movement that makes Mokuba yelp in surprise, he grabs him and pulls him towards him. Mokuba’s stiff and tense in his arms. They don’t do this, but he wants to try. Try to be a good brother. A good whatever he is.

“Um…”

Mokuba starts to relax a little, and shifts his awkward balance so he’s slightly on Seto’s leg, and not crushing the picture so badly. He hopes it wasn’t one Mokuba was overly fond of. Can’t even hug his fucking brother right.

He holds him closer as Mokuba seems to realise he’s here for the long haul, and lets himself be pulled into Seto’s lap. He’s radiating confusion that Seto doesn’t know how to address - “I need to hug you because even when I try, I still somehow don’t understand you enough”.

“Ok. But you do, you know. You’ve bought me art stuff every birthday and holiday for the last three years.” He hadn’t meant to actually say that, but Mokuba’s reply helps him breathe a little easier.

He lies his cheek against Mokuba’s head. His hair keeps getting lighter. Could grow it out again, artists like long hair, don’t they? Don’t have to keep it neat for meetings. Not like he ever cared about ‘appropriate business appearance’ anyway. 

“I love you.” He says, slightly muffled against Mokuba’s hair.

“…Have you been on those chatrooms again.”

“Hmph.”

“I know you do. Love you too.” Mokuba replies, then laughs a little into his collar at the silliness of it all. Seto smiles. They stay like that until Mokuba starts to fidget.

“You’ll have to show me samples of your work.” Seto says, in as businesslike tone as he can manage with a mildly embarrassed fourteen year old on his lap like a child.

“I can show you my portfolio if you let me up.”

“…One more minute.”

“Ok.”

  



End file.
